“Attempting to debate with a person who has abandoned reason is like giving medicine to the dead.”
― Thomas Paine

Thursday, August 2, 2012

When Will People Learn That The Left Lane Is For Passing????

This is for people who drive in the left lane and will not yield to others:

Please, please, please. for all of us who dearly just want to get from one place to another with the least amount of hassle, please read this.

I've written about this before in part, but it can't be written about enough until we get people to understand why this is such a big problem.

I just don't understand the need for some drivers to get and stay in the left lane. We've all seen them. They are in the left lane staring straight ahead doing about 10 mph slower than the flow in all the other lanes. Drivers will go around them, but there are times when you want to go faster and get stuck behind one of these geniuses and THEY WON'T BUDGE.

The next car in front of them is about 1/2 mile ahead, there's enough room for them to move over into the next lane but you can't get over and pass them. Ever been in this situation?

For those of you who "cruise" in the left lane, please read this:It is ILLEGAL in most states to drive in the left lane and not yield to faster vehicles.You don't believe this, Jane and Johnny Obstacle?READ BELOW.

It is a phenomenon that seems to be pervasive in every state on virtually any multi lane highway.

The chart below indicates there are 29 states with laws on the books where driver in the left lane are required to move over if driving slower than normal traffic.

Note the law does not say the speed limit. It says slower than normal traffic. That means if the speed limit is 65 mph and you're in the left lane doing 70 mph and others are passing you on your right and you have cars behind you trying to pass you YOU MUST MOVE OVER ACCORDING TO THE LAW in these 29 states.

It is not incumbent upon you, Mr. or Ms. Left Lane Slow Driver, to regulate the speed of others. It is, however, incumbent upon you to GET OUT OF THE WAY.

Click on the image to enlarge

The breakdown for the rest of the states:

Left Lane Only For Turning - 10 statesWeak Or No Law - 5 statesMust Move if Blocking Traffic - 6 states

The LAW is against you Mr. or Ms. Obstacle. Simply stated : YOU NEED TO MOVE OVER. BY LAW.

The logical question then is of course: "Why isn't this enforced then?"
The Answer: If troopers are pulling left lane violators over during commuting hours, what do you think will happen? MASSIVE TRAFFIC JAMS.

"Some people have asked if we actually stop drivers for staying in the left lane, and we absolutely do," Sgt. J.J. Gundermann of the Washington State Patrol told Pemco. "The Legislature's intent is for the left lane to be used as a passing lane, and ultimately some people need a ticket to get them to comply.""If almost half of drivers don't know that left-lane camping is illegal, that might explain why it seems so common on our freeways," Pemco spokesperson Jon Osterberg said. "Perhaps we simply need to increase awareness."

Common practice and most law on United States Highways is that the left lane is reserved for passing and faster moving traffic, and that traffic using the left lane must yield to traffic wishing to overtake. The United States Uniform Vehicle Code states:Upon all roadways any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic ...The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's website on "Keep Right Laws" points out that:This law refers to the "normal" speed of traffic, not the "legal" speed of traffic. The 60 MPH driver in a 55 MPH zone where everybody else is going 65 MPH must move right..."[3]It is also illegal in many states in the U.S. to use the "far left" or passing lane on a major highway as a traveling lane (as opposed to passing), or to fail to yield to faster moving traffic that is attempting to overtake in that lane. For example, Colorado's "Left Lane Law" states:A person shall not drive a motor vehicle in the passing lane of a highway if the speed-limit is sixty-five miles per hour or more unless such person is passing other motor-vehicles that are in a non-passing lane...[4]

Video discussion about why do people drive in the left hand lane in Oregon

1 comment:

In Colorado the reason people drive in the left lane as the "normal" lane was quite obvious to me after driving here for a few years. The real reason is ignorance, but it's not just ignorant drivers on the road - it's the typical mindset and ignorance of the State itself. When on a 2 lane road merging to a one lane road, Colorado depreciates the right lane in 95% of cases - reinforced by signs indicating right lane traffic merge LEFT . This is exactly opposite of every other State I have driven in. A majority of States depreciate the left lane when the same scenario exists. These states make the right lane the PRIMARY lane, which is the more logical and SAFEST scenario. By doing what they do, Colorado is educating the population daily ( my guess subconsciously) to depreciate the right lane AT ALL TIMES in favor of making the left lane PRIMARY. Therefore the LEFT lane MUST be the correct lane to travel in all the time. It's 1)nauseating, 2)dangerous, 3)the behavior of lemmings, and one of many reasons I really hate Colorado.